ed rule changes for temporary workers proposed by the Illinois Department of Labor.
Among other things, the proposed rules require temp workers who put in 720 hours over six months to be given full-time benefits or the cash equivalent.
Frank Auriemma, president of Staffing Services Association of Illinois and CEO of Oak Brook-based Summit Staffing, said the changes could lead to a resurgence of a gray market for day labor and a potential shrinking of the tax base.
TEMP WORKERS 2A :14 “…years ago.”
Auriemma said a provision making the rules retroactive to April 2024 would be immediately challenged in court.
TEMP WORKERS VERSION 2 (with wrap)
An industry leader says a smaller tax base and fewer jobs are the potential ramifications of proposed rule changes for temporary workers proposed by the (The Center Square) – Staffing industry leaders say proposed rule changes by the Illinois Department of Labor would be bad for business, bad for temporary workers, costly to consumers and potentially damaging to the tax base.
The proposed rules require temporary workers who put in 720 hours over six months to be given full-time benefits or the cash equivalent.
Frank Auriemma, president of the Staffing Services Association of Illinois and CEO of Oak Brook-based Summit Staffing, said it would become much more expensive for businesses to use temporary workers.
“Their cost of the labor could out of nowhere jump 20, 30% in some cases. What is that going to do to prices? Obviously, that has to go somewhere. It all gets passed through to the consumer, Auriemma told The Center Square.
Auriemma said companies could be forced to pay a part-time worker on the job for six months more than a full-timer with ten years of experience.
“That’s just one example of a whole host of unintended consequences that make this bill really, really bad for the Illinois economy and the Illinois workers,” Auriemma said.
Auriemma said a provision making the rules retroactive to April 2024 would be immediately challenged in court.
The proposed rules stem from an amended House Bill 2862, signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in August 2023.
Auriemma said the changes could lead to a resurgence of a gray market for day labor and a potential shrinking of the tax base.
“You’d also be much more likely to see people that end up working in off the books arrangements or working for companies that are paying them in cash and doing other things that were very common in all kinds of industries 10 and 20, 30 years ago,” Auriemma said.
Following a IDOL’s public hearing on Wednesday, SSA urged the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules to reject the proposed rules.
Auriemma said about 800,000 people in Illinois work at some point during the year as a temporary employee.
